Deadline extended!

Do you know an educator who goes above and beyond in the area of special education? Please consider nominating them for the 2016 Josephine J. Decima Award. This award is presented annually to a teacher in the CAIU’s service area whose commitment and service in the field of special education epitomizes the qualities that Josephine Decima demonstrated in her work with children. It will be presented during American Education Week.

This honor also includes a $500 monetary award graciously donated by the Decima family.

Nominees should demonstrate:

Advocacy for the educational needs of all children, especially those with physical and mental challenges.

Compassion for students with special needs.

Commitment to help children with special needs become a vital part of the community.

Effort to provide valuable and practical life experiences for students with special needs.

Willingness to share knowledge, skills, and experiences with colleagues in order to strengthen educational programs and pedagogy.

Initiative to seek and provide services for students with special needs.

Nominations
Nominations can come from professionals or the community. Nominees must be an educator of students with special needs who works within the CAIU service area, and must hold PA Level II Certification in the area of special education. Please read the brochure for more information and an application.

Google Docs (Scott Snyder, facilitator)
Get friendly with Google’s word processing application and how you can use it to easily create documents, collaborate on those documents, and share the documents with people in your world.

10/13/2016
10:15-11:15 a.m.
Meadow Room

OR

11/1/2016
8:30-9:30 a.m.
Board Room

Google Chrome Browser (Karen Ditzler, facilitator)
Chrome is a fast, simple, and secure web browser with many features to allow you to be more effective and efficient. Join us to explore Chrome and the extensions and apps that you can use to get more out of the device you currently have as well as how they help to support your instruction. We will take time to browse the Chrome Web Store to find tools that will be useful.

10/11/2016
8:30-9:30 a.m.
Friendship Room

OR

11/8/2016
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Juniata Room

Google Slides (Kelly Fortney, facilitator)
This session is designed to introduce you to a whole new world of Powerpoint presentations! Google Slides has everything you need to pull a presentation together without ever having to hit “save.” You can create, edit, collaborate, and present from anywhere, on any device. Plus, you can open and edit other presentations without any special software.

10/13/2016
9-10 a.m.
Meadow Room

OR

11/14/2016
9-10 a.m.
Friendship Room

Google Drive (Scott Snyder, facilitator)
Google Drive is your home for all your Google Drive files. In this one-hour session, learn how to create, organize, and find all file types.

10/21/2016
8:30- 9:30 a.m.
Juniata Room

OR

11/4/2016
1:30-2:30 p.m.
Friendship Room

Google Sheets and Google Analytics (Sarah Kelly, facilitator)
The first 45 minutes of this session will be dedicated to Google Sheets. Participants will learn the menu, basic functions, pre-made templates, and how to use Sheets in the classroom or for personal applications. The last 15 minutes of the session will include Google Analytics, a platform that lets you track user activity on a website or mobile application. One can see what user activity looks like and make key decisions based on that information.

10/24/2016
8:30-9:30 a.m.
Friendship Room

OR

11/16/2016
1-2 p.m.
Juniata Room

Google Forms (Karen Ditzler, facilitator)
Join us to learn about how you can use Google Forms in a variety of ways. Forms is an easy way to give a poll or survey, quiz students or collect other information. The results are easily accessible and reports give you valuable information. We will explore how to create, share, and manage Google Forms.

The CAIU will be hosting a full-day event exploring the use of assistive technology to help support struggling students. These options are readily available to educators utilizing built-in accessibility features on current operating systems, as well as a range of apps, programs, and extensions to support students.

Participants should bring laptops and iPads to the training and would benefit from having the Google Chrome browser installed on their device and an established Google account prior to the session.

The CAIU will be hosting Experience Dyslexia, A Simulation, a full-day event to help educators enhance their understanding of dyslexia and learn strategies for accommodation from an experienced panel of volunteers from the Pennsylvania Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.

The first half of the day will be focused on helping educators develop a better understanding of students with dyslexia and other reading and writing disabilities. Performance indicators and behaviors that students with dyslexia and other SLDs exhibit in the classroom will be discussed, as will strategies for accommodating needs and differentiating instruction. The session will include an overview of readily available assistive technologies.

During the second half of the day, participants will be engaged in six simulated activities which mimic the experiences and processing of those with learning disabilities.

The day wraps up with a Q & A session with an experienced panel of volunteers from the Pennsylvania Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.

The CAIU will host a Google Technical Admin Boot Camp on October 14, 2016, in collaboration with Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13 and Lincoln IU 12. This event is designed for district IT directors and administrators who want a better understanding of the management tools and features of Google Apps for Education, Chromebooks and Android tablets.

This is a full-day workshop that includes breakfast and lunch. Participants can earn five Act 48 hours.

Audience: Administrators and IT Staff responsible for providing technical services to the school community.

The CAIU will host a Google Apps for Ed Support Staff Boot Camp on October 25, 2016, in collaboration with Lancaster-Lebanon IU 13 and Lincoln IU 12. This event is designed for district staff members who want a better understanding of the management tools and features of Google Apps for Education.

Audience: administrative assistants, secretaries, school or central/business office staff, classroom or school aides, and other support staff.

Cost: $99 per person (bring 3 participants from your district and receive on free admission)

The Capital Area Intermediate Unit is happy to announce the graduation of its first group of students in the Penn State Health Project SEARCH High School Transition program. The graduation ceremony will be held on June 7, at 6:30 p.m., at Junker Auditorium at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey.

The CAIU, in partnership with the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, and the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, established the program at on the Penn State Health campus in Hershey to provide students with disabilities in their senior year of high school the opportunity to gain skills to succeed in the workplace. Five students participated in the program and will be graduating on June 7.

The Penn State Health Project SEARCH High School Transition Program features a unique, business-led, school-to-work program that takes place entirely at the workplace. Each student experiences total workplace immersion on the Penn State Health campus. The program includes a combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and relevant job-skills training through strategically designed internships. The goal for each student is competitive employment after graduation.

Project SEARCH was developed at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 1996. Since its inception, it has grown from a single site to over 300 sites across the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland and Australia. Project SEARCH’s primary objective is to secure competitive employment for people with disabilities.

If you are an educator or part of an organization or business and you love to tinker and are inspired by maker-movement products such as 3D printers, Raspberry Pi, Makey-Makeys, Breakout boxes, and Ozibots, why not share your knowledge and passion with the local education community? Request for proposals to showcase products and projects at the first Capital Area Intermediate Unit Tinker Expo is open!

The Tinker Expo will be held on Wednesday, October 5, from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., at the CAIU. It will be a true makerspace where educators, administrators, and organizations can gather to create, invent, and learn together. Participants will have the opportunity to get hands-on with 3D printers, software, electronics, craft and hardware supplies, tools, and more.

The Tinker Expo will feature the latest in maker-movement inspired products and projects organized in five zones:

• Discover
• Encounter
• Invent
• Thrive
• Innovate

The day will be full of opportunities for conversations with educators and organizations to inspire attendees to become an innovative practitioner. Be a part of this fun, engaging, and exciting day! If you are interested in participating or showcasing a tinker space, please complete the form at the link below by July 8, 2016.

The Capital Area Intermediate Unit is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2015/2016 Thomas W. Holtzman, Jr. Leadership Award is Robert Weezorak, an educational consultant for the preschool program at the CAIU. Weezorak has worked with the CAIU since 1980 and has served as a school-age teacher in residential care centers and classrooms and has served as a master teacher, then educational consultant, for various classes in Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry counties.

The Holtzman Award is given annually to a teacher who is recognized as a leader in public education and the community; exceeds their professional requirements; and earns the respect of students, parents and colleagues. Weezorak will be presented with the award at the CAIU board meeting on May 26.

Congratulations, Mr. Weezorak!

Here are a few quotes from Mr. Weezorak’s letter of recommendation and application:

“…one teacher noted, ‘He is always here—even when he shouldn’t be.’ When he supports new teachers, often he stops by class in the morning before class or after class is finished as the teacher is occupied with students all day. Much of his support involves after school time. Another teacher said, ‘I don’t think I could have survived as a new teacher without his help and encouragement.’”

"One of the most sincere acts of kindness was observed when [Robert Weezorak] was seen comforting a student’s father who just lost his wife. The family struggled financially and he spent hours gathering information from the family and funeral director. He wrote a proposal requesting financial resources to a nationally growing campaign adopted by local organizations, institutions, and businesses so the family could move forward with the funeral arrangements. He was successful in his efforts and the father of the student who lost his wife was so grateful for his act of kindness."

“Most importantly, the children light up when they see [Robert] enter a room and he is often the ‘highly preferred’ adult that the children seem to cling to.”